kaenicki



COFPIN.

Patented Deo. 1, 1896.

(No Model.) M KARNICKI 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

GOPFIN.

Patented Dec. 1.1896.

(No Model.) 8 Sheets-Sheet 3.

M. KARNICKI.

OOPHN.

No. 572,118. Patented Dec. 1, 1896.

1 pi p3 2 5 'gir-m UNITED STATES PATENT CEEICE.

MICHAEL KARNICKI, OF VVARSAV, RUSSIA.

COFFIN".

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent N o. Y572,118, dated December 1, 1896.

Application led March 4, 1896. Serial No. 581,788. (IrTo model.)

To all whom t 77mg/ concern:

Be it known that I, MICHAEL KARNICKI, a subject of the Emperor of Russia, residing at Warsaw, in the Empire of Russia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cofiins, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to cotins, and has for its object to provide a complete means of safety against the danger of persons being buried while in a state of trance. e

My invention consists, essentially, of a hermetically-sealed box or coffin, a frame connected to the lid thereof, a transparent plate adapted to be secured to said frame, mechanism for locking the frame and plate together, springs interposed between said frame and plate and normally adapted to throw the plate from the frame, and a push-plate controlling means for releasing the locking mechanism of the frame or pla-tc to permit the springs to throw said plate from the frame.

lf the person buried in a state ot' trance opens his eyes on returning to consciousness, he sees light through the glass disks of the lid and will, on coming to his senses, unconsciously make a movement by which the mechanism which stands under the pressure of the springs is immediately released and the springing up of the lid is eeected. The sick person can thus raise himself, he receives air, and by striking on the glass tombstone or by operating an alarm device he is in a position to call the attention of the passersby to effect his rescue. If the awakening of the sick person takes place at night, it is inevitably necessary to wait for some hours, but with the beginning of day service at the church-altar will afford a certain chance of speedy aid.

Figure lis aver-tical longitudinal sec-tion of a hermetically-closed comu; Fig. 2, a view of the lid with the mechanism from below; Fig. 3, a partial cross-section on the line 3 3 of Fig. l; Fig. 4, a cross-section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 2 and Fig. 5, aview from below of the coin'- lid, showing the released position of the separate parts of the mechanism.

A frame a is firmly connected with the lid of the coftin and is provided onits inner longitudinal sides with eyelets a and at its ends with flat springs a2. Sliding bolts b, which are suitablyguided by means of screws and slots and which alway'Is-tend to iiy together in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 5 under the action of springs b', are also provided on the under side of the frame a. These bolts b preferably carry on their inner ends small rollers and have their outer ends provided with wedges bz. A plate p, containing glass disks g, is provided with bolts p', adapted to readilyenter the eyelets ce', formed on the frame a., and is provided in the center with a bar p2, on the under side of which are arranged slides c, which slide in suitable guides and tend to constantly move inward under the action of springs c2. In the middle of the bar p2 a push d is further arranged and provided with a pressure disk orbutton d in such a way as to be vertically movable within certain limits, and levers ff, pivotally mounted in supports f', are connected to the said push d. The push is also provided with a plate cl2, which can move in and out of a re cess in the bar p2, and on this plate cl2 springs (Z3 act and tend to always press the push d downward. (See Fig. 4.)

lf now the coffin is to be closed, the plate p is placed ont-o the frame cl, the bolts p of the former enter the eyelets a' of the frame, and by the use of sufficient pressure on the plate j) the springs a2 and also a suitable washer a3, placed on the frame a, are compressed. The bolts'b are then caused to lie in a horizontal plane with the slides o and assume the lposition shown in Fig. 5. By drawing the slides c apart they are brought into the position shown in Fig. 2, by which means the bolts b are separated until their Wedges b2 enter slots in the bolts p of the plate p and press the latter still firmer on the frame a. The fixing in position of these parts which are now in tension is effected by means of the plate cl2, attached to the push d', which plate emerges from the recess in the bar p2 and rests against and between the projecting inner end surfaces c' of the slides o, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The connection of the coffin-lid with the Cottin-body, both of which parts are provided with flanges, may then be effected by means of screws, a

suitable washering substance being placed between them. The mechanism is thus set, (under spring-pressure,) and It Is so sensi# TOO tively constructed that a person returning to consciousness may, by exerting a comparatively slight pressure on the disk d ora pull on rings r, which are arranged on the outer ends of the levers f, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, easily effect a movement inward of the push CZ with the plate d2 into the recess of the bar p2 and thus produce an immediate springing` oir of the lid-platep.

The coffin is so made that if the power of the springs and the washering material should not be found suicient to prevent for a length of time an escape of gases it may be always possible to solder it down, and this can be done by skilled workmen after about fourteen days. It may here be noted that in such case the work of soldering down can be eiected much more completely than if the same had been done before the burial and in great haste, as hitherto, at the house of the deceased person,where a complete hermetical closing` from above did not take place.

Finally, it may also be mentioned that by means of the present invention not only is thorough security afforded against the danger of beingburied when in a state of trance, but the general sanitary precaution of a rapid hermetic .closing of the coin is thus aorded.

Having thus described the nature and objects of my invention, what I claim as new, 3o and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

In a hermetically-sealed box or con, a frame connected to the lid of the coffin, a transparent plate or cover adapted to he secured to said frame, mechanism for locking the plate and frame together, springs interposed between the plate -and frame and adapted to throw the plate from the frame, a push-plate located within the coin, and means controlled by said push-plate adapted to release the locking mechanism, substantially as and for the purposes described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specication in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

MICHAEL KARNICKI. Witnesses:

WADYSLAW ZANIowsK-I, MAJAN WoTowsKI. 

